


The Final Box (the final step)

by Smiley5494



Series: English Assignments [9]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Divorce, Motifs, Past Relationship(s), Post-Divorce, References to Christianity, Religion, aftermath of cheating, motifs and symbolism, past f/m relationship, references to the number six
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 01:02:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29991540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smiley5494/pseuds/Smiley5494
Summary: The last box was there waiting for her, sitting open and empty, the final step before she would walk out and leave, never to return. She’d packed so many already, she’d taken six trips to her new house.That was her aim, anyway.
Series: English Assignments [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1671247





	The Final Box (the final step)

The last box was there waiting for her, sitting open and empty, the final step before she would walk out and leave, never to return. She’d packed so many already, she’d taken six trips to her new house.

That was her aim, anyway.

The papers had been signed, the divorce finalised, by still she had no idea of who she was without him. They’d been together for years, and the marriage—and _him_ in particular—had been her whole world, her identity for six or more of them.

The only thing left to pack was her books, and she stood before the shelf with her intent written over her face and the box by her side.

The novels went first, the ones he had bought for her, romance novels, fantasy, and then the ones she’d bought for herself, self-help books, psychology, and an old bible with a red leather cover and glittering gold lettering.

She didn't have a lot of space left, only the single empty box, and the things she wanted to take with her had to be packed.

She took down her books, and lined the box with them, carefully and lovingly, and she held her bible in her hands for a long moment, deliberative.

It was worn and well-loved, the red leather faded and soft, and it no longer lay flat when it was put down flat.

It held stories within its pages, both those written in ink and those only there in tears and memory. She’d read it when she’d gotten married, and she’d read it when she’d found his biggest and harshest secret. It had been with her from the beginning, the worn pages, six cloth bookmarks all marking her favourite passages.

She closed her eyes and found one, the sixth and final one, a piece of soft, worn cloth and cracked the book open. She ran her hands down the pages feeling the smooth texture of the paper, the faint indent of the bookmark.

Her eyes opened, and her gaze fell on the ten commandments, the rules she lived her life by, the rules he had violated, and the reason she was leaving.

The sixth was the most important in her mind, and she breathed out a sigh as she closed the bible and packed it away. The box closed and she picked it up, all set to leave.

No. 6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.


End file.
